Rotherham councillor “astonished” at Forge Island criticism from MP

In his bid for a £20 million investment from the government’s “levelling-up” fund, Rother Valle MP Alexander Stafford branded the Forge Island redevelopment a “white elephant”

In his bid for the cash for Rother Valley, he argued during a debate on May 13 that: “for years, hundreds of millions of pounds of investment have been funnelled into the centre of Rotherham for white elephant schemes such as the redevelopment of Forge Island, while the rest of the borough has been completely ignored

” Another example is the towns fund, which only benefits Rotherham central and not Rother Valley.

“Labour-led RMBC is a council for Rotherham town proper, as opposed to its adjacent hinterlands, and there is a fundamental issue with how RMBC approaches areas such as Rother Valley.”

During RMBC’s full council meeting on May 26, Labour councillor Denise Lelliot said she was “astonished” at the comment, adding ” I don’t think it’s the job of MP to run down the town that you represent.”

When complete, Forge Island will be home to an eight screen cinema, four restaurants, a 69 bed hotel, a 139 sqm café, and a new pedestrian bridge over the River Don.